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Kamen Rider Kuuga Chapter 2: Encounter
Encounter is the second chapter of the Kamen Rider Kuuga manga. It features the debut of the title character, Yusuke Godai. Synopsis After an unbelievable encounter with a warrior fighting a spider creature and in a crisis of faith in his abilities, Kaoru finds himself dealing with a happy go lucky individual who assisted a thief at the police station. Plot The opening scene recaps the last page of the first chapter, with the spider monster turning around to see a white and black insect warrior standing on top of a building. Enraged and shocked, the creature refers to the being above by only one word: Kuuga. Kuuga dives down from the building and then springs off the wall and somersaults forward as his body glows, the monster trying to counter with its acidic webbing. Kuuga then kicks the monster, lands, then hits it again with a roundhouse kick, only for the creature to grab his leg. The spider creature then lifts Kuuga into the air and tosses him, landing in front of Kaoru. The creature speaks, but his words are indecipherable and tries to web Kuuga and when that fails he then flees. Kuuga tries to go after him, but he has a pain in his chest and his body starts to change in shape. He leaps away before Inspector Ichijo can see him, leaving Kaoru baffled as to what just happened. In Hokkaido, Minori Godai is with her uncle and aunt on Nakahata Ranch, helping them prepare their horse Hanako to give birth to her baby foal. Her uncle and aunt are worried as they cannot see the head coming out. Yusuke is having a bit of a problem as Hanako is biting his arm. Minori says that it has been a while since Hanako has seen him and she cannot help but "fawn over" Yusuke. Yusuke pleads for Hanako to let him go and the mare releases him. Yusuke hurries over to help his uncle pull the foal out of Hanako as it is coming in feet first. After giving birth, Yusuke comforts the tired Hanako by petting her neck. A few days later, Yusuke informs his sister he is going traveling again. Minori wonders why as he has only been home in Japan for a week, with her brother simply saying the wind is calling to him to travel and that is the kind of person he is. He cannot explain it any better, but then says he is glad to be alive and wants to see everyone on Earth and befriend them. Yusuke mistakenly thinks there are 5 billion humans on Earth, but Minori corrects him and says there are approximately 7.1 billion. Excited, Yusuke says that means there are 2.1 billion more friends to make. Minori is happy her brother at least came to visit and says "Yusuke" will miss him, Hanako's foal, whom their uncle named after his nephew as he brought him into the world. At Kansai Medical University Hospital in an autopsy room, the medical examiner is looking at the remains of Akira Harada and giving his report to Kaoru. According to the examiner, what has happened is impossible for any human to do. He states that the internal organs have melted along with the bones, the bodily fluids then seep out of the orifices and completely drain out of the remaining flesh. According to toxicology labs, the victims were killed by a chemical whose consistencies match that of components of a kind of spider poison but ten times the strength and potency. Kaoru thinks about his encounter with the spider monster when this is brought up. The examiner read Kaoru's report and if it weren't for the remains of the bodies, he would have dismissed Kaoru as a cop going crazy. He asks him if he remembers their promise to each other when they were still in school. To be the best doctor he could be to protect the lives of those he could not and Kaoru becoming a cop who saves as many lives as he can by protecting them. This killer, whatever he is, makes that promise seem impossible as they have no idea how to combat it. Kaoru stands near one of the corpses silently as he cannot conceive such a thought. Later, Morimochi talks about how the higher ups in the police department are freaking out over these killings, as they have no idea how to handle it. Nozomi is hearing that it is possible this is a terrorist attack by some kind of organization. Kaoru agrees thinking these "non-human entities" have come to commit acts of terror against the entire human race. Nozomi is confused as she has read Kaoru's police report, but does not understand why the "other creature" was fighting the first one. Kaoru says he was trying to keep out of their way to stay alive. Nozomi thinks that the other creature possibly was trying to save him. She then notes there may be a connection of these murders to a murder case at the ruins of Mt. Kurougatake in the newspaper. She says the sole survivor was found in a state of trauma, ranting and raving like a crazy person that a monster killed his co-workers. Kaoru reads the newspaper and is stressed, dropping his can of coffee and deciding to go out to get some air. Morimochi wonders what is going on as Karou is not acting like himself and is worried, as Kaoru never drinks coffee or has sugary drinks. Nozomi thinks that Kaoru is acting like he is afraid of something and trying to hide it. As Kaoru walks, his mind struggles to process the events that have happened, unable to cope with the very idea that law and justice could fail in such a way by having an enemy they cannot even touch or defeat. This nearly breaks Kaoru until he hears a woman's scream and sees a purse-snatcher, snapping him out of it and chasing after the thief. Yusuke has finally arrived in Tokyo, admiring the Skytree as it wasn't there last time he was in the city while admitting he is lost as the new structure does not make a good landmark for directions. Something runs into his bike and Yusuke sees the purse-snatcher, who tries to help him up. The purse-snatcher begs not to be harmed as he claims he needed the money in the purse for his family. Kaoru grabs the purse-snatcher by the shoulder and shows his badge, but the purse-snatcher runs out of his grip and flees. Yusuke decides to help the purse-snatcher by tackling Kaoru and holding him down so his new friend could escape. Enraged upon seeing the thief getting away, Kaoru flips Yusuke. He then yells at Yusuke wondering what his deal is, but is stunned in disbelief when Yusuke says that HE is the criminal and apologizes, extending out his arms so he can be handcuffed. Yusuke is arrested and taken to a police jail cell, but is not the least bit bothered by it, asking if he can have his futon and katsudon for lunch. Kaoru says Yusuke will get those but in the meantime the accomplice needs to reflect on his crime. Yusuke takes it in stride, as at least he has a roof over his head to sleep. Yusuke then lies on his bed, admiring the view of the Skytree from his cell window. After getting his meal, he thanks the police officers for "giving him a place to stay with two square meals", much to their annoyance as it is jail and not a hotel. Kaoru comes in and apologizes to the 3rd Division officers, saying he will take responsibility for Yusuke. The cops are relieved as they cannot get anything out of Yusuke as he does not have any semblance of common sense. Kaoru admits it is because Yusuke didn't do the crime and just wanted to calm him down. Kaoru reminds Yusuke he is still in the prison on charges of assaulting an officer and aiding a criminal's escape from police custody. Kaoru asks for the file to get his name, but Yusuke introduces himself by name as the "chaser of dreams" and the "man with 2,015 skills". Kaoru is even more bewildered as he does not know what to make of Yusuke, but continues his job by asking why he aided the thief. Yusuke tells the story the purse-snatcher told him about his family and that he felt sorry for him. Kaoru asks if the woman who lost her purse does not matter, but Yusuke says he feels sorry for her too. Yusuke then asks one of the detectives if he can borrow some money, wanting to reimburse the woman who got robbed. He has just arrived in Tokyo and has no job or money at the moment, but will pay back the police when he gets his first pay. Yusuke wants to travel around the world and takes up part time jobs so he can fund his travels to "live the thrill of youth". Kaoru tries to ground Yusuke in reality, saying while its fine to have dreams, it is important to see clearly what is ahead of you and plan for that. Yusuke says that he loves being lectured but has a different perspective, he wants to befriend all 7.1 billion people and be like a dandelion seed on the wind just drifting away. Kaoru gives up trying to get anything out of him and just simply lets Yusuke go, asking him to just leave. Yusuke is about to get on his bike when he realizes he forgot something. Morimochi comes bursting out of the entrance door of the station to find Kaoru and tells him another sighting of the monster has just happened. Kaoru is ready to race to the scene but is grabbed by the waist by Yusuke who asks for that money he wanted. Annoyed and wanting to get to the creature before it hurts someone, Kaoru angrily tosses Yusuke 1,000 yen from his wallet and tells him to never show his face to him again. When Morimochi asks who that person Kaoru was yelling at was, Kaoru simply states Yusuke is a shining example of "Japan's ignorance towards the affairs of the world". Yusuke, being a bit dense, thinks Kaoru was being kind and is touched by his generosity. As they drive to the scene, Kaoru's car is being watched by a mysterious man wrapped in bandages from atop the exit of a highway tunnel. Morimochi cannot get ahold of the officers who went ahead of them. As he drives, Kaoru's hands start shaking while holding the wheel. Morimochi is concerned, but Kaoru dispels his fear and is confident he can make it and defeat whatever this is. Suddenly, a line of web ensnares the car and they are yanked into the path of a wrecked car and crash. The spider monster appears and based on its dialogue, it plans to lure Kuuga out and kill him after killing its prey. Kaoru gets out of his car and tries shooting the monster, but it has no effect yet again as the creature lunges at him. Yusuke is sitting near the ocean at a park, observing the construction site of Kengo Kuma National Stadium over the skyline while eating some onigiri. He is amazed that Japan will be hosting the 2020 Olympics. He realizes that he used all of the money Kaoru gave him to buy lunch. Yusuke knows he needs to hurry and find a way to pay the detective back soon. To Be Continued.... Characters Kamen Rider Allies *Kaoru Ichijo *Minori Godai Gurongi *Zu-Gumun-Ba Notes *'Similarities to the TV show:' **Kuuga battles Zu-Gumun-Ba, only for him to escape. **Zu-Gumun-Ba traps Kaoru's car in a spider web and tries to kill him. **Like in the show, the Gurongi Language is not deciphered or translated to keep the motives of the villains a mystery. **Yusuke describes himself as "a man who chases dreams", a phrase used on the business cards of his original counterpart. *'Deviations from the TV show:' **According to a newspaper, one of the archeology researchers survived Daguva's attack. This is a bit different from what transpired, as all of the researchers were dead when police investigated the ruins in the first episode. **Yusuke now has 2,015 skills, as he trained to have one for each year up to the current one at the time of the chapter's publishing. The original incarnation had 2,000 skills, as he wanted to have a goal to celebrate the year 2000. **Kuuga's design is more akin to his S.I.C. figurine interpretations, as his look is more organic. His hands have sharp claws and he has clawed armored feet instead of wearing boots. **Yusuke getting arrested was not part of the TV show. *Yusuke asking for in jail is a gag reference to Japanese cop dramas on TV and in film where interrogation scenes often involve offering the dish to criminals so they confess.